The Graveyard Book

1. Bibliography

Gaiman, Neil. 2008. The Graveyard Book. with illustrations by Dave McKean. New York: Harper Collins Publishers. ISBN 9780060530938

2. Plot Summary

            Nobody’s family is killed, and now the killer is after him too. Luckily for him he wonders into the graveyard and is taken in by the residents their. They teach him, care for him, and watch out for him as he grows into a young man. While the graveyard is the safest place for him that doesn’t keep Nobody out of a little bit of mischievousness and trouble.

3. Critical Analysis

            The Graveyard Book is a youth adult ghost story book, which contains some of the motifs found in fantasy fiction. The motifs found in The Graveyard Book include magic, other worlds, good vs. evil, and heroism, , also known as Bod, is the typical main character found in fantasy youth adult fiction. He is bright, a loner, and misunderstood at times, which makes the character easy to identify with. He is a strong well rounded character. There is a large amount of mystery surrounding the other characters, but Bod is fully developed. The setting and characters are developed further through the use of illustrations presented throughout the book. The setting of the book, the graveyard, is a fully developed character of its own. The setting of the book is based in real life, but contains the supernatural as well. With each new page the setting is developed further and goes deeper into either reality, with Bod going to school, or the supernatural, with Bod going through the goblin gate. Whether Bod goes towards reality or away from it he is still faced with the issues of good vs. evil. Bod must learn to fight and become a person on his own away from the safety of the graveyard. The plot is consistent with the rules established in the graveyard. It is unique in the ability take traditional themes and presents them in a new way. The more the reader delves into the story the more believable the supernatural elements become. This story is able to reach a variety of people, since it contains murder, mystery, ghosts, friendship, and family.

4. Reviews

2009 - Hugo Award

2009- Newberry Award

2010- Carnegie Medal

Locus Award

Kirkus Review; “Wistful, witty, wise-and creepy. Gaiman's riff on Kipling's Mowgli stories never falters, from the truly spine-tingling opening, in which a toddler accidentally escapes his family's murderer, to the melancholy, life-affirming ending. Bod (short for Nobody) finds solace and safety with the inhabitants of the local graveyard, who grant him some of the privileges and powers of the dead-he can Fade and Dreamwalk, for instance, but still needs to eat and breathe. Episodic chapters tell miniature gems of stories (one has been nominated for a Locus Award) tracing Bod's growth from a spoiled boy who runs away with the ghouls to a young man for whom the metaphor of setting out into the world becomes achingly real. Childhood fears take solid shape in the nursery-rhyme-inspired villains, while heroism is its own, often bitter, reward. Closer in tone to American Gods than to Coraline, but permeated with Bod's innocence, this needs to be read by anyone who is or has ever been a child.”

From School Library Journal; “…Bod's love for his graveyard family and vice versa provide the emotional center, amid suspense, spot-on humor, and delightful scene-setting. The child Bod's behavior is occasionally too precocious to be believed, and a series of puns on the name Jack render the villain a bit less frightening than he should be, though only momentarily. Aside from these small flaws, however, Gaiman has created a rich, surprising, and sometimes disturbing tale of dreams, ghouls, murderers, trickery, and family.”

5. Connections

* Create one of the headstones that is in the graveyard.

* What do you think Nobody will do with the rest of his life?

* Turn a chapter of the book into a reader’s theater script

* What picture do you think is missing from the book, draw what you think it should look like.

*Name the motif or motifs that are present throughout the book.

* Similar books:

            Snyder, Zilpha Keatley. The Trespassers. ISBN 0440412773

Nesbit, Edith. The Story of the Amulet. ISBN 1604596945

Wright, Betty Ren. The Moonlight Man. ISBN 0590252380